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Primary Separation Plant decommissioning project reaches milestone
Work to decommission the Primary Separation Plant at Sellafield has taken a major step forward with the removal of the entire redundant inventory held in the top section of one of the process cells.
The primary separation plant was used to reprocess early reactor fuel before being converted to a head end treatment plant where fuel was sheared. The plant contains four highly active cells, each containing redundant radioactive material.
Work to remove the material of the least radioactive cell of the four – the Highly Active South Outer, began in 2006 as part of a pilot programme for future decommissioning activities on the Sellafield site.
Dubbed the ‘HASO project’ by the teams involved, the material held within the cells ranges from radioactive vessels, through to contaminated pipe work that had been used as part of the reprocessing process as well as contaminated wooden scaffolding boards dating back to the 1970s.
Retrieval of the inventory on the top section of the cell has been a great success given the radiological challenges the team faced. The team has also made cost savings and efficiencies through effective sentencing of the retrieved material.
A large proportion of the metal retrieved has now been treated through the site’s wheelabrator - a facility used to mechanically remove the outer surface of contaminated steel to clean metal for recycling. To date almost £1,800 in disposal costs have been saved, with a potential for up to £30,000 savings as the project progresses.
The HASO team working closely with contractors Cumbria Nuclear Solutions (CNSL) introduced a number of innovative solutions in response to the various challenges presented. N-Visage scanning and mapping technology identified the areas of highest radiation to support effective working times and specific shielding. An extensive ‘fogging’ exercise was also undertaken reducing airborne activity levels in advance of decommissioning operations which included size reduction using plasma cutting techniques.
Speaking about the project, Jeremy Hunt, Programme Delivery Manager said: "Although it sounds like a cliché, the project’s success is fundamentally down to a real team ethic between Sellafield Ltd and CNSL. The project team has had tremendous support from Sellafield’s fire and rescue team, waste teams and health physics and I’d like to congratulate and thank everyone involved in the project so far."
Mike McKerrow, the CNSL Project Manager, commented that "this collaborative team approach encouraged the proactive development of the most appropriate solutions. The early engagement of the delivery team proved to be an important aspect of the projects success, and the Sellafield team should be congratulated for creating a contract environment which encourages collaboration from the start.
"The team are now working hard to deliver the next milestone in January 2010 and achieve further cost savings for the company."
